Knack vs Craft in Gorgias Essay

The fight to do what is right is not an easy path to traverse, but is one which demands a noble and enduring character. Defending principles of justice with logic and reason in the face of political opposition, is a difficult task to take, but the elusive Socrates boldly undertook this endeavor. In Plato’s Apology, he recalls the daring defence of the principles of truth that Socrates took against all odds. Plato’s recollections, much like the trial of Socrates at the time, has sparked numerous debates amongst scholars who seek to understand the events of the trial more deeply. One such debate has centered on what Socrates meant when he said his speech was nothing more than words spoken at random. Brumbaugh and Oldfather, in their scholarly analysis, contend that Socrates’s speech is riddled with fine polish and organization suggesting that his speech was not random. As will be discussed, there are several examples of organization in Socrates’s speech such as when he provides his jurors with an outline of his speech. Additionally, masterfully woven throughout his defence, Socrates employed many diverse modes of argumentation in a logical and consistent manner lending credence to the notion that he planned his speech beforehand. This skillful use of these modes in Socrates’s argument, all vindicate an intentional design and premeditation. Despite Socrates’s humble assertions

In his defense, Socrates claims over and again that he is innocent and is not at all wise, “…for I know that I have no wisdom, small or great.” Throughout the rest of his oration he seems to act the opposite as if he is better than every man, and later he even claims that, “At any rate, the world has decided that Socrates is in some way superior to other

In fact, Christopher Bergland stresses that being active as children will lead to being healthy adults, as well as having lifelong habits of working out. Gymnasts definitely are active, as seen in the practice hours mentioned in the first paragraph. In gymnastics, flipping around requires muscle, flexibility, and strength; qualities that are easily transferable to other sports as well. Rita Wieber, the mother of Jordyn Wieber, says nutrition is very important for a gymnast. “Eat what she needs to perform at her best...be as healthy as possible,” she writes. Gymnasts usually do their sport until their mid-teens...being told about eating healthy will have a lasting impact on them. On the contrary, doctors and parents argue that because of the nature of gymnastics, gymnasts are susceptible to eating disorders. Actually, gymnasts who get eating disorders are most likely nagged by the coach to lose weight and become stronger. If the coach is verbally abusive and crude, should the gymnast even be training under them? Probably not! Anyways, gymnasts are not likely to be affected by anorexia, bulimia, and the like because gymnastics enriches confidence. Think about it- on beam, gymnasts are flipping on a four feet high, four inches wide piece of wood in front of judges. They put in their hardest work to get the best score possible, and they know it. Furthermore, healthy habits are just a few of the life skills

In this paper, I will be discussing harm, specifically in the view of Socrates as depicted in Plato’s The Apology of Socrates. I will discuss the various instances in which Socrates weighs in on what harm means and I will make the claim that Socrates’ definition of harm is ambiguous yet targeted at preserving his own sense of pride; and I will defend that claim.

Only wanting a just verdict, Socrates did not wish to use pathos, or emotions, in the way it was most commonly used. Instead of groveling and weeping in front of the jury for mercy, Socrates merely used those who did such things as an example of what he would not be doing. He stated that he indeed had a wife and children, but he also said that he would not be bringing them forth just receive pity from the jury. His reason for doing so was the reputation of not only himself, but also the reputation of Athens. Through various ways, Socrates called those who wept and begged a disgrace to Athens, also saying that those who did such things should be ashamed and punished. By refraining from doing those childish things, Socrates showed that he would not degrade himself or bring shame upon Athens, even if it meant a better verdict.

Socrates is at the age of seventy and appearing in a law court for the first time. For the people of Socrates time is accusing Socrates, for miss leading the youth corrupting them and boasting about being wise, causing him to become very unpopular. Socrates says to the jury I am going to speak the whole truth, for it is me by myself that I have to defend. He says my accusers are many and I don’t know them, they say, “you should be careful not be deceived by an accomplished speaker like me” (Cohen, Curd, & Reeve, 2000). The accuser goes on to say that Socrates is accomplished speaker; Socrates starts to praise them, because their lies are so good well put together, that Socrates himself is almost convinced but then he says that they do not

Socrates put one’s quest for wisdom and the instruction of others above everything else in life. A simple man both in the way he talked and the wealth he owned, he believed that simplicity in whatever one did was the best way of acquiring knowledge and passing it unto others. He is famous for saying that “the unexplained life is not worth living.” He endeavored therefore to break down the arguments of those who talked with a flowery language and boasted of being experts in given subjects (Rhees 30). His aim was to show that the person making a claim on wisdom and knowledge was in fact a confused one whose clarity about a given subject was far from what they claimed. Socrates, in all his simplicity never advanced any theories of his own

He uses phrases such as, beg of you and grant me this favor trying to win the mercy of the court. Socrates wanted the audience to be in his frame of mind by understanding the "language" in which he spoke. He made the assumption that the accusers were the ones that were lying through their eloquent words and phrases and he was just using plain style because he was telling the whole truth and was not hiding anything. Here he was insinuating that the accusers were manipulative and can not be trusted. Because there were so many people in the court he also used plain style so that everyone would be able to understand him and that he could talk to each member of the court. In the conclusion to Socrates's speech, he said that if he were destroyed, he would be destroyed with the other good men who have died and would probably be the death of many more. Socrates ends with this because he wanted to leave the court with a heavy heart and to insinuate that innocent men, such as himself, have been sentenced to death and he is sure that he will not be the last. Socrates almost seemed to have an arrogant tone in his speech in which he didn't seem to fully show respect for the court. It almost seemed as if he was talking down to them. He was interrupted several times in

Socrates is considered to have been one of the best to ever use logos in a speech. However, his use of ethos and pathos is nothing to be scoffed at. When analyzing the speech for the use of ethos one huge point pops out. Socrates says that “And I must beg of you to grant me a favor:, If I defend myself in my accustomed manner, and you hear me using the words which I have been in the habit of using in the agora, at the tables of the money-changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you not to be surprised, and not to interrupt me on this account. For I am more than seventy years of age, and appearing now for the first time in a court of law…”(2). This statement lends itself to the accusers to feel bad for Socrates because he has not been in court before. This statement also establishes that

The argument begins with Polus telling Socrates that rhetoric and oratory can give you great power and high regard. He likens their position to tyrants who do what they see fit. To this Socrates says, " I say, Polus,

In his argument, Socrates is trying to discover the qualities of a just man. He draws an analogy with medicine to show that a doctor, who is wise and good, will never have a desire to outperform other doctors, but only non-doctors. In case with music, the story will not differ, for wise and good musicians will only demand to reach the state of harmony in music. Oppositely, non-musicians and non-doctors will only want to outperform everyone. Socrates, then concludes that in every field of knowledge, a knowledgeable person would not want to do better than any other knowledgeable man, while an ignorant and bad person will only have a desire to outdo others. From there, Socrates makes an inference that since a person reflects the qualities of the man he is like, an unjust person appears to be ignorant

In Book VII Socrates has finished listening to other opinions and is now formulating a response. The oration is an excerpt from an intellectual conversation between Socrates and Glaucon. The goal of the dialogue is to reach a viable explanation of education. Simile is used in the passage when Socrates compares the "instrument

Socrates’ rhetoric in the argument of pain versus pleasure stems from his desire to actually make the audience understand his argument through emotions; he wants to make them grow a better understanding of the difference between pain and pleasure and show him how the proper use of rhetoric can impact rather than just persuade. Throughout Gorgias, Socrates makes it a point to attack Gorgias’ position as an orator by asking questions about the true meaning of his craft, like when he states “Then

Socrates utilized this method throughout The Apology. In doing so he embarrassed and enraged many of his fellow citizens, and he believed this to be the reason for his being put on trial.

Socrates was an influential Greek philosopher; however, he never wrote any book and his ideologies are mostly presented by Plato, who was his student. Plato explains Socrates’ attitude towards poetry in his books, the Republic and the Symposium. Afterward, he offers his perceptions and solutions to the matter. Plato’s Republic explains Socrates’ mindset towards poetry censorship. Socrates argued that poetry lacked wisdom because there was no censorship of works of poetry. As a result, poets can write about anything they wish to inscribe, which enhances imitation. On this note, Socrates argued that poetry exposed citizens to different forms of imitation, which would corrupt their minds because they had no restrictions.